Legacy
by ariestess
Summary: The serpent is in the grass, but I don't believe it's me… Series: Part 6 of the Adsum, Domine series
A/N: This one came out more like the first three pieces in this series, which is fine. I'm not surprised that John's story worked out similarly to both Ann's and Veronica's in particular. This story is quite full of my own headcanon that I am fully expecting to get Jossed at some point. I've made my peace with that. And I admit that I may have gotten a little extra influence toward John Lyons here from another beloved role of Scott Wilson's, Sam Braun from _CSI_. I take my inspiration where I can get it, okay? And for the record, the Portland office of Armitage Global is based on this Twitter exchange with Barbara Hershey [ /BarbaraHershey8/status/725540402405613568].

Dedication: Glen Mazzara, for creating the characters; Scott Wilson, for bringing the character to life; and my muses, for always keeping me on my toes.

Series: Part 6 of the _Adsum, Domine_ series

Please see profile for Disclaimers.

* * *

Whatever else anyone thinks about me, I've been a good husband and father to my boys. Margot has been well cared for, particularly as her stroke-related dementia has grown worse. The boys have wanted for nothing in the entirety of their lives. They've become pillars of society in their own influential circles. That both have followed in my footsteps within Armitage Global has been a great source of pride and accomplishment. John Jr. is practically running the Portland office as the Vice President of Acquisitions, and Solomon is working his way up through the ranks here in New York. One day, they'll have to battle it out to see which will replace me, but that's still years away. If I had to choose right now, my money would be on John Jr., but only because he's got a couple years' experience on his younger brother. Solomon chose to attain a higher degree in business before joining the family business.

Things might change though. Solomon's business acumen is far savvier than his brother's, whereas John Jr. is more of an instinctual leader. Both are charismatic in their own ways, but Solomon's is a far darker presence, something he no doubt learned from shadowing Ann Rutledge during that one summer internship between his junior and senior years of high school. She was the one to encourage him toward the doctorate in business, but talked John Jr. into joining the business as soon as he had his Master's degree. I never should have let that woman near either of my sons, regardless of her importance to the plan for the Apocalypse. She's a shark in human guise and will gladly bloody the waters to get what she wants.

Don't get me wrong, Ann has proven to be an incredible asset in the Armitage dossier. That has never been in question, not in the more than twenty-five years that I've known her. When Mrs. Baylock first introduced her to me, I was expecting another religious zealot like her mentor. What I didn't expect was such a keen mind, quick and deadly as the strike of a cobra. When her husband and infant daughter died, she turned to me for comfort, but I always suspected something wasn't quite right there. We developed a friendship, or as close to one as can be had with Ann Rutledge, over the years.

It was a few years into our friendship and business relationship, well after she'd been brought into the White House to keep an eye on Damien, that we had a single night of indiscretion. When she turned up pregnant a couple of months later, I waited for the blackmail ultimatums to appear. But they never did, and Margot never learned of my infidelity. I don't know for sure if Veronica is my daughter, but she looks enough like my own mother to make me very uncomfortable. The fact that she was given the surname of Ann's long dead husband can only be a ruse to cover the obvious to the oblivious. It also seems apropos to hiding the truth in plain sight, something Ann's gotten quite good at over the years.

If Veronica truly is my daughter, I don't think either of my boys will stand up to her when she truly comes into her own. If only Ann hadn't been so hard on her as compared to Damien when they were growing up. On the other hand, would Veronica be nearly as competent at what she does if Ann had coddled her? I don't honestly think so.

If they weren't related, I'd suggest a marriage of convenience between Solomon and Veronica. That would allow them the ability to take over Armitage Global and continue our work once Ann and I are too old to take down our own kills, as it were. But it's too late for such ideas now, so she will have to battle her half-brothers for control of the world. After all, isn't that the goal of Armitage Global: total world domination through the Beast's rise to ascension in the Apocalypse? It truly is survival of the fittest. Darwin would be proud of my children and their instincts for continued existence. Thanks in large part, fortunately or unfortunately, to Ann Rutledge.

The serpent is in the grass, but I don't believe it's me…


End file.
